Orthopedic chair construction



y 1967 c. J. HATFIELD 3,320,949

ORTHOPEDIC CHAIR CONSTRUCTION Filed May 22, 1963 2 Sheets-$heet 1 INVENTOR.

' CARL J. HATFIELD ATTORNEY May 23, 1967 c. J. HATFIELD ORTHOPEDIC CHAIR CONSTRUCTION 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 22, 1963 INVENTOR. CARL J. HATFIELD BY 7% {,W W

HIS ATTORNEY United States Patent C) 3,320,94 ORTHOPEDIC CHAIR CONSTRUCTION Carl J. Hatfield, 7830 South 22300 West, West Jordan, Utah 841134 Filed May 22, 1963, Ser. No. 282,275 6 tllaims. (Cl. 128-70) The present invention relates to orthopedic chair constructions and, more particularly, to a new, improved, and versatile orthopedic chair construction, of low manufacturing cost, which is intended primarily for use for children having the lower portion of their bodies in casts.

Orthopedic physicians and surgeons are well aware of the fact that often times the lower limbs of a child must be held spread out in spread-eagle fashion for a protracted period of time while the childs system develops sufficient calcium in the hip areas to accommodate the ball and socket joint of the hips. This condition, known as congenital hip, is a relatively common ailment for young children.

In the past a number of types of supports have been devised for use by children to accommodate the conventional, spread-eagle casts they must wear on their legs and lower torso. Those of which the inventor is aware are extremely expensive to manufacture, are often in imbalance, and further, permit the child to be positioned in the orthopedic device only with difiiculty. Further, existing orthopedic chairs are not adapted with the sidewise adjustment which often becomes necessary for accommodating children of various sizes and, indeed, leg casts of dissimilar, leg-cast deviation.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved orthopedic chair intended primarily for children having an ailment known as congenital hip.

A further object of the invention is to provide an orthopedic chair which is of simple and inexpensive construction, and yet which is adjustable sidewise to accommodate various types of casts and various sizes of children.

A further object of the invention is to provide an orthopedic chair which is suspended from an upper support, leaving the lower portion of the chair freely accessible for child placement.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel tray and other accessories and comfort devices which will be particularly suited for incorporation in the basic orthopedic chair of the invention.

The features of the present invention which are believed to be novel are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The present invention, both as to its organization and manner of operation, together with further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is an isometric view of an orthopedic chair according to one embodiment of the present invention; in FIGURE 1 the child accommodated by the chair is shown in dotted line configuration, for simplicity of illustration; a novel tray is shown exploded away from the main structure and is intended for use therewith.

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged section, taken along the line 2-2 in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged section, taken along the line 3--3 in FIGURE 1, and is representative of the combination, telescoping and detent structure employed relating to the cross structure of the chair so as to accommodate its width-wise adjustment.

FIGURE 4 is an isometric view of an orthopedic chair according to a second embodiment of the invention, this with the child shown in a dotted line configuration as 3,32%,949 Patented May 23, 1967 Gal before, and with a second type of tray which may be used in practicing the invention.

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged detail taken along the line 5-5 in FIGURE 4, indicating a representative releasable attachment of the tray to the basic chair structure in FIGURE 4-.

FIGURE 6 is an isometric view of a chair-like support which may be used in either of the orthopedic chair constructions shown in FIGURES 1 and 4.

In FIGURES 1-3 the orthopedic chair 10 in one embodiment of the invention is shown and is illustrated as being suspended from support 11. Support 11 may be the cross-bar of a double-A frame structure or other convenient means suitable for supporting the chair above floor level. Upright bars 12 and 13 of side frame members 12' and 13', of orthopedic chair 10, each have ends 14 provided with apertures 15 which receive pivot attachments 16, securely and pivotally attaching the upright bars 12 and 13 to journal means 17 comprising clamp halves 13 and 19 as secured together by attachments 20. In practice it is preferable that the pivot attachments 16 proceed through aligned apertures 21 and 22 of the respective clamp halves 18 and 19, and that the clamp halves at their lower margins be relieved, as shown in FIGURE 2, to accommodate the pivotal displacement of upright bars 12 and 13 about the axes of the pivot attachments 16.

It should be emphasized at this juncture that, where the orthopedic chair is adjustable width-Wise and sufficient clearance is provided cooperating parts, then slight adjustments in width may be easily taken up by the pivotal movement of upright bars 12 and 13 about pivot attachments 16; furthermore, if an increase or decrease in width of the orthopedic chair is to be somewhat pronounced, then attachments 20 of both of the journal means 17 need only be loosened so that the journal means 17 may be mutually spaced apart in a manner as desired, that is, to positions nominally equivalent to the desired width of the orthopedic chair as illustrated in FIGURE 1, for example.

The upright portions A and B of upright bars 12 and 13 will be nominally disposed, preferably, in vertical orientation, with a slight tilting forward of these portions being permissible for balancing purposes. Correspondingly, when desired, the upright bars 12 and 13 may include counterbalancing, counterweight portions C and D which may be weighted with mercury, sand or the like, if desired, so as to provide further stabilization of the chair for the child. A young child E is shown in dotted line configuration, for purposes of clarity, and is supported in the orthopedic chair of the present invention, as shown in FIGURE 1, by his cast F straddling the chair, the legs G and H of the cast are disposed to rest upon respective support bars 22 and 23 which are integral with upright bars 12 and 13, respectively. If desired, these support bars 22 and 23 may have slight depressions or concave portions J and K for facilitating proper support of the childs cast at its legs.

It is seen in FIGURE 1 that each of the upright bars 12 and 13 is supplied with lateral or transverse structure which may appropriately be termed as transverse brace means M. Brace means M includes respective hollow members 24- welded or otherwise secured to side frame member 12, and telescoping members 25 are cooperatively supplied thereto and are welded to side frame member 13. The telescoping members 25 telescope within their respective hollow members 2 3 in a manner as suggested by FIGURE 3, with members 25 including plural apertures or indentations 26, see FIGURE 3, and with the hollow member 24 including a spring-loaded detent 27 which may he of the self-loading type and secured by means 28 to members 24. As indicated in FIGURE 3, the telescoping members 25 are slidable in-and-out of hollow members 24 and yet are secured in a desired mutual position by virtue of the action of the detent spring 27.

Head support 29 is desirably formed of rubberized or elastic cloth, or other suitable, elastic substance, and is formed, preferably, as a band disposed about the upright bars 12 and 13 as shown, desirably at the proximate juncture of the counterweight portions C and D of the upright bars with the back portions Q, R thereof. Thus, the head support 29 is suited for variations in width of the orthopedic chair as may be brought about through the adjustment by the attendant.

Releasable strap means 30 is secured at opposite extremities to links 31 and 32, fixed to the respective upright bars 12 and 13, as shown, and provide retention of the child in position.

A desired inclusion in the chair construction is the provision of a tray 33, see FIGURE 1, which includes a tray member 34 attached by suitable means to support mounts 35 and 36, the latter preferably taking a general U-configuration and having upper extremities 37 and 38 thereof provided with spring clips 39 and 40, and lower extremities 41 and 4-2 adapted for the telescoping reception thereof by hollow support bars 22 and 23. The tray member 34 is exploded away from the chair for convenience of illustration in FIGURE 1; it will be understood that the tray is attached to and is releasably engaged with the orthopedic chair by the engagement of spring clips 39 and 40 with upright bars 12 and 13 and by the simultaneous telescoping reception of extremities 41 and 42, of support mounts 35 and 36, by hollow support bars 22 and 23.

The structure as shown in FIGURES 13 operates as follows. The adjustment width-wise of the orthopedic chair has hitherto been discussed in connection with either the variation in spacing of journal means 17 at the top of the drawing or, for slight width-wise displacement, the pivotal movement of upright bars 12 and 13 associated with respective pivot attachments 16. Actual widthwise adjustment is made manually spacing the side frame members 12 and 13 apart, this by urging together or by withdrawing, telescoping members 25 from their respective hollow members 24, and this to a point such that desired detent action by means 27 takes place. If desired, the support mount 36 may have suificient resiliency so as to accomodate the slight width-wise adjustment of the orthopedic chair anticipated. Other width-wise extension means may be supplied the tray member 34, as desired. Width-wise extension of the chair is facilitated by headrest band 29. The strap means 30 is for the purpose of releasably securing a child in place, with the legs G and H of his cast F being supported in the preferably included depressions I and K of the support bars 22. and 23. A chair shell as shown in FIGURE 6 may be included in the structure illustrated in FIGURE 3, if desired.

Of importance is the fact that FIGURES 1-3 illustrate an embodiment of the invention wherein a framelike structure provides a back M and, especially, cast supports in the form of support bars 22 and 23.

In FIGURE 4 orthopedic chair 50 includes side frame members 51 and 52 which are laterally, telescopingly joined together by means of transverse brace means M comprising individual hollow members 24 and telescoping members 25 as in the case of the embodiment shown in FIGURE 1. The stretchable, band-like, head support 29 is also shown and may conveniently be included in the design. Side frame members 51 and 52 include respective upright bars 53 and 54 and support bars 55 and 56 respectively integral with the former. F'orwardly extending arm bars 57 and 58 are welded or otherwise securely affixed to the side frame members 51 and 52, as shown, and individually include suspension brackets 59 and 60 which are provided with respective pluralities of apertures 61 and 62 for accommodating the bifurcated end mounts 63 and 64 and pins 65 and 66 of elongate suspension rods 67 and 68. The upper extremities of the suspension rods 67 and 68 each include journal means 69 and 70 which are slideably disposed upon support 11. In being so slideably disposed upon support 11, then the journal means may be spaced apart as desired to accommodate the chosen width of orthopedic chair 50. Pluralities of apertures are supplied in the respective suspension brackets 59 and 60 so that appropriate balancing of the chair may be provided for. Tray 71 includes tray member 72 having spring clips 73 which are glued as at 74, soldered or otherwise aifixed to the tray member 72 and which receive and frictionally engage respective arm bars 57 and 58. There are many types of clip attachments which may be provided to clip the tray 71 to the arm bars 57 and 58 or other structure of the orthopedic chair so as to retain the infant in place and provide him with a little tray table. If desired, there may be provided a seat 75 provided with spring clips 76 which snap onto transverse base members M. Thus, the seat may accommodate varying widths of the orthopedic chair 50.

The structure illustrated in FIGURES 4-6 operate sub- I stantially in the identical manner as that in connection with the orthopedic chair shown in FIGURES 1-3. Of course, the safety belt or strap means 30 in FIGURE 1 may be employed in the structure of FIGURE 4. Likewise, the seat 75 may be used not only as in the case of FIGURE 4 but also in FIGURE 1. The important thing to note about the structure shown in FIGURE 4 is that sufiicient space is provided between the arm bars 57 and 58 and the respective support bars 55 and 56 to accommodate placement of the leg portions of the childs cast so the child may be easily disposed in position. In both embodiments of the invention, as shown, either the tray may be employed to secure the child in place or, and preferably, the safety belt or strap means 30 may be employed in any event. As in the case of FIGURES 1 3, the transverse brace means M may be provided the detent structure shown in FIGURE 3.

While particular embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made without departing from this invention in its broader aspects, and, therefore, the aim in the appended claims is to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of this invention.

I claim:

1. An orthopedic chair construction for supporting a patient having a cast holding the patients legs vertically and spread apart, said chair construction including, in combination, a pair of mutually spaced, vertically oriented, side frame members, said side frame members including forwardly-oriented, horizontally-disposed, substantially parallel support bars having corresponding, upwardly facing, concave means for detent-positioning the leg casts of a child patient seated in said chair construction, each of said side frame members having intercooperating, mutually engaged, transverse means for connecting said side frame members together and for permitting the widthwise adjustment of the spacing between said side frame members and, consequently, the width of said chair construction, means for releasably securing said side frame members and said transverse means together to effect desired width of said chair construction, means affixed to said side frame members for supporting said chair construction above floor level, and releasable restraining means for retaining a patient in said chair construction, said side frame members and said releasable means mutually cooperating to maintain the trunk of a child patient in upright position in said chair construction.

2. Structure according to claim 1 wherein said supporting means of said frame members each include horizontally aligned, journal means for suspending said chair construction from a horizontal support and for accommodating width-wise adjustment of said side frame members.

3. Structure according to claim 2 wherein said chair has a seat area, said side frame members each having rearwardly extending counterbalancing means disposed above said seat area.

4. Structure according to claim 1 wherein said chair construction includes a stretchable, resilient, head support member interengaging said side frame members and disposed thereon in a region as to accommodate the support of the head of a patient seated in said chair construction.

5. Structure according to claim 1 wherein said orthopedic chair construction includes a seat member releasably secured to and over said side frame members at said transverse means thereof, being supported thereby, said seat member constituting said concave means and having laterally directed, downwardly sloping depressions for supporting said leg casts.

6. An orthopedic chair construction for supporting a patient having a cast holding the patients legs vertically and spread apart, said chair construction including, in combination, a pair of mutually-spaced, vertically-oriented, side frame members, said side frame members including forwardly-oriented, horizontally-disposed, substantially parallel support bars having corresponding, upwardlyfacing, concave means for detent-positioning the leg casts of a child patient seated in said chair construction, each of said side frame members having intercooperating, rnutually-engaged, transverse means for connecting said side frame members together and for permitting the width- Wise adjustment of the spacing between said side frame members and, consequently, the width of said chair construction, means for releasably securing said side frame members at said transverse means together to efiect desired width of said chair construction, means afiixed to said side frame members for supporting said chair construction above floor level, releasable restraining means for retaining a patient in said chair construction, said side frame members and said releasable means mutually cooperating to maintain the trunk of a child patient in upright position in said chair construction, horizontal, forwardly-extending arms secured to said side frame members and disposed respectively above said support bars, the spacing between said arms and their respective "support bars being accessible and open for the reception of a patients torso and leg cast, of a patient, to be seated in said chair construction, and a tray releasably secured to said arms.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 909,411 1/ 1909 Hockney 297- 955,841 4/1910 Benner 297- 274 2,339,007 1/1944 Gahm 5-81 2,613,724 10/ 1952 Arnold 297-255 2,649,309 8/1953 Deissner 297-44 2,667,913 2/1954 Dustin 29746 3 2,733,754 2/1956 Leslie et al. 29742 2,833,332 5/1958 Nabors 272704 2,866,495 12/1958 Diehl et al. 272--42 2,904,102 9/1959 Komori 297- 250 2,955,594 10/1960 Graig 128-87 2,984,291 5/1961 Kostenborder 297-153 FOREIGN PATENTS 269,750 11/ 1950 Switzerland.

RICHARD A. GAUDET, Primary Examiner. I. W. HINEY, Assistant Examiner. 

1. AN ORTHOPEDIC CHAIR CONSTRUCTION FOR SUPPORTING A PATIENT HAVING A CAST HOLDING THE PATIENT''S LEGS VERTICALLY AND SPREAD APART, SAID CHAIR CONSTRUCTION INCLUDING, IN COMBINATION, A PAIR OF MUTUALLY SPACED, VERTICALLY ORIENTED, SIDE FRAME MEMBERS, SAID SIDE FRAME MEMBERS INCLUDING FORWARDLY-ORIENTED, HORIZONTALLY-DISPOSED, SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL SUPPORT BARS HAVING CORRESPONDING, UPWARDLY FACING, CONCAVE MEANS FOR DETENT-POSITIONING THE LEG CASTS OF A CHILD PATIENT SEATED IN SAID CHAIR CONSTRUCTION, EACH OF SAID SIDE FRAME MEMBERS HAVING INTERCOOPERATING, MUTUALLY ENGAGED, TRANSVERSE MEANS FOR CONNECTING SAID SIDE FRAME MEMBERS TOGETHER AND FOR PERMITTING THE WIDTHWISE ADJUSTMENT OF THE SPACING BETWEEN SAID SIDE FRAME 